In a recent thread ASL was compared to real life combat situations. One opinion was that there was little alike in the two. Another poster shared how ASL was used in some planning during the Iraq War. I can't find that thread but Colonel Cuervo, Captain Bacchus, and I have some thoughts.
Cardboard terrain or terra firma it is all about problem solving and the problems have basically been the same for the last five thousand years or more. The weapons have changed but the problems are pretty much the same.
Hop in the TARDIS with the Doctor of your choice and visit Julius Caesar. Show him a map of the problem that faced Schwartzkopf and his staff. Just the basics, ignore the weapon difference and concentrate on the problem. My guess is that Ol' Julius would come up with a pretty good solution to that problem.
The key is that Caesar was only shown a map. ASL boards are essentially just very detailed maps. Cardboard or terra firma the tactics are the same. The results are a different matter entirely.
This is NOT to say that a great ASL player would make a great, or even good, battlefield commander. Perhaps, but from what I have read there is something special in those types.
Regardless ASL does not represent real combat but it offers an avenue to explore the problems real combat present.
Later. I gotta put my work clothes in the dryer. It's the busiest time of year and corporate dropped a ton of clustereffs.
